Paint Shop Pro--NOT for Photo shop klan members

[nhsmitty]

Embarassed to say that I cant answer
If you like I can let you know as soon as I have more time to play with it.

Sure, that'd be great. I'll be taking another look myself when time permits. I'm wondering if it's a function similar to levels or curves, but built as a slider in Picasa. When using the fill light slider with the histogram visible you can see the histogram going to the right, essentially equaling out and bringing out shadows from a dark pic.

 

[CanadianMe]

I love Photoshop, when I started to graphics I really liked Ulead Photoimpact it had no learning curve and was inexpensive. I still use it on my PC for when I am goofing around and on my Mac I been using Photoshop for my business for years. For my pics I am not big on Photoshop I learned Aperture and just love it with CS3 Workflow action pack. I am a real beginner with photography but was a graphic artist for years and Photoshop is overkill for most people, it is very expensive and big learning curve. I think most of the cheaper alternatives are better for most. How many really need to power of what Photoshop can do at what is costs? I need it, most can do without.

 

[skieur]

Assuming you know this but often times more steps to accomplish "the same thing" gives the user more control. As we already stated and most agree to, photoshop is aimed at the more experienced user or those who want more control over their workflow. Now, it may take fewer steps to achieve the "same goal", but those fewer steps just means PSP or whatever application makes more decisions for you, which is not always a good thing..

Sure, CS3 gives the user more control, but to a pro, time is money and that level of control is not necessary for every purpose. You may see picture noise on screen but if that picture noise means better resolution and does not show up in a print, does it really matter if the end result is printing. Selling an art piece to a high level magazine or gallery is different from public relations work for a small folder. Work for the general public is different from work submitted to an art director.

A pro who is a true business person works on several quality levels related to the individual projects. This also allows varied pricing and flexibility. It is rather ridiculous in the worst case scenario to spend time on CS3 edits and modifications that won't be noticed when the project could be completed in half the time with a greater profit margin using Paint Shop Pro and plug-ins.

For some projects, all that may be needed is batch processing in DXO Optics Pro. For others perhaps PaintShop Pro and Plug-ins are the answer. For the final level, CS3 is needed. The question however for some pros is...how much of my work really demands the use of CS3?

Complicating things further you need to realize that a big variable is the postprocessing skills of the photographer. I can't remember the photo mag but one indicated that the difference in output from a highly skilled postprocessor using the latest version of PaintShop Pro Photo X2 and Photoshop CS3 was minimal.

To a pro, speed trumps output unless there is a a noticeable difference that makes the extra time worth it in terms of profit or reputation. The decision is an individual one, since not everyone has the same level of postprocessing skills.

skieur

 

[JerryPH]

I did a lot of research on what I wanted in a Photo Editing program. I previously used Picasa which was wonderful and easy to use. Most importantly it was FREE.

After using Photo Shop and Elements I realized it wasnt for me, so the search began.

I ended up this weekend with Paint Shop Pro by Corel. I cannot say enough good things about it. It does everything I need it to do.

I reccomend it to the person who either A) does not have the time or desire to learn Photoshop or B) wants soemthing as easy as Picasa but just wants to move up to the next level.

I loaded it up and was able to start using it right away....big A plus for me

I'm so glad you found something that worked for you. Now aren't WE glad that WE aren't the center of the universe and limited to one choice? :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 

[JerryPH]

The question however for some pros is...how much of my work really demands the use of CS3?

Sincerely, I am not a pro, but as someone that must have spent $900 or more for DXO, Bible, CS3, Paint Shop Pro and at least 10 other programs, I am happy to say that CS3 does things for me that other programs cannot.

Is CS3 all I use? Nope, but its the one that I use when I want the BEST from my pictures. For the times that it doesn't matter and I am just futzing around... the others help me save some time, but definately not the same class of quality or final output.

 

[Sideburns]

I'm going to have to agree with the general opinion on this forum. If you know what you're doing in Photoshop, there is no replacement (yet)...
But I HAVE used PSP, and it's quite good for a lot of things. I'm sure you could do all your (regular) photo edits in it quite easily...I can't remember much about it though...

Both programs serve their purpose, and both are for a different audience.

 

[Alpha]

Sure, CS3 gives the user more control, but to a pro, time is money and that level of control is not necessary for every purpose. You may see picture noise on screen but if that picture noise means better resolution and does not show up in a print, does it really matter if the end result is printing. Selling an art piece to a high level magazine or gallery is different from public relations work for a small folder. Work for the general public is different from work submitted to an art director.

A pro who is a true business person works on several quality levels related to the individual projects. This also allows varied pricing and flexibility. It is rather ridiculous in the worst case scenario to spend time on CS3 edits and modifications that won't be noticed when the project could be completed in half the time with a greater profit margin using Paint Shop Pro and plug-ins.

For some projects, all that may be needed is batch processing in DXO Optics Pro. For others perhaps PaintShop Pro and Plug-ins are the answer. For the final level, CS3 is needed. The question however for some pros is...how much of my work really demands the use of CS3?

Complicating things further you need to realize that a big variable is the postprocessing skills of the photographer. I can't remember the photo mag but one indicated that the difference in output from a highly skilled postprocessor using the latest version of PaintShop Pro Photo X2 and Photoshop CS3 was minimal.

To a pro, speed trumps output unless there is a a noticeable difference that makes the extra time worth it in terms of profit or reputation. The decision is an individual one, since not everyone has the same level of postprocessing skills.

skieur

I think this is a tad too much of a blanket statement. Not all pros do high throughput work. That much is true. Further, if you do any compositing work, it's always slow (though you can speed up your masking a little bit with something like FluidMask). Remember that PS also has a lot of capabilities that are far more advanced and customizable that don't necessarily take any longer to do than a more automated workflow in another program would. To gild the lily, PS is invariably better at non-destructive editing. That's something any pro should concern themselves with regardless of how much time they have to do work in post. I use many of these functions and I'm not even a pro-- I certainly wouldn't do without them if I were...such as the ability to modify color without affecting brightness or contrast.

 

[TCimages]

I've used both as well, but I'm not sure why you guys feel that PS offers SOOO much more over PSP. As with any software there are differences as well as pros and cons, but I certainly don't see MAJOR differences.

OUt of curiosity, I would like to see what you guys think the top five most important things are that PS offers over PSP?

 

[RKW3]

I'm kinda the opposite of FreedBaby, the first editing program I ever had was paintshop pro, but it didn't feel right. When I tried Photoshop Elements 5.0 I got used to it much more smoothly.

It doesn't really matter what program you use, it's just how you use it.

 

[shorty6049]

kinda funny how pretty much any thread starting out with "i'm not trying to start anything" always does...

 

[DragonHeart]

I honestly use BOTH Paintshop Pro and Photoshop CS3. For a quick edit, I will load up Paintshop Pro, however, for more in depth edits, I use CS3.

 

[JerryPH]

kinda funny how pretty much any thread starting out with "i'm not trying to start anything" always does...

lol... true.

As far as I am concerned, you are not making an intelligent decision until you have tried both and base your choice on your own experience. There is no one right answer for all, and I am sure as heck not going to close the door to other possibilities based on what someone else says. I take all advice with a grain of salt and use my own mind to decide what is best for me... not just exclusively based on what someone else says... not that I'm not trying to start anything... :lmao:

 

[Alpha]

OUt of curiosity, I would like to see what you guys think the top five most important things are that PS offers over PSP?

1) Modifying colors without altering brightness or contrast, and vice versa. This is the be-all-end-all for me.
2) Far better masking, especially via a better channels interface and features like calculations.
3) #2 also means consistently better black and white conversions
4) Smart Objects
5) More blending modes